Let me address a few specific issues that ConfSS has raised.
ConfSS said:
Yes, America's Golden Age was the IKE Years.
Realize the times and the circumstances of this era. Most of Europe and Japan was in ruin as a result of WWII. The Economies of the world were in horrible shape and took years to rebuild. American Industry was pre-eminent in the entire world as NO OTHER country had the manufacturing capacity of the USA. The Marshall Plan was helping REBUILD Europe.
Marshall Plan, 1948
In the immediate post-World War II period, Europe remained ravaged by war and thus susceptible to exploitation by an internal and external Communist threat. In a June 5, 1947, speech to the graduating class at Harvard University, Secretary of State George C. Marshall issued a call for a comprehensive program to rebuild Europe. Fanned by the fear of Communist expansion and the rapid deterioration of European economies in the winter of 1946–1947, Congress passed the Economic Cooperation Act in March 1948 and approved funding that would eventually rise to over $12 billion for the rebuilding of Western Europe.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/marshall-planSo, yes, the years after WWII, including the "IKE Years" were at time of great prosperity and growth for the USA. Competition from Europe and Japan did not really become significant until after the 1970s with the Arab Oil Embargo lead by OPEC and Saudi Arabia. The USA by then started to get bloated and fat with complacency. The Auto Industry is a good example as the Big Three made muscle cars and saw little need to innovate nor to produce significantly better cars. Unions assured lucrative employee compensation packages (contracts) for their union members.
#2
you can't give everyone FREE SHIT.
No kidding. Liberal Democrat continue to want to
1) solve all problems, real and perceived, by throwing more money at them;
2) want to give away money on more social welfare, such as free child care in the $3,5 Trillion bill currently stalled in Congress;
3) want to allow any poor person from any country cross into the USA ILLEGALLY to get more "Free SHIT."
4) spend money like Drunken Sailors, but one key difference: The Drunken Sailor of old stopped spending money when his cash ran out.
5) spend money we do not have by a) printing more, b) borrowing more, and/or c) tax "ONLY" the Rich and corporations.
6) use BAD economic policy.
As I have said before and elsewhere, they do not understand basic economics. When you create more money (see #5 above) and create disincentives to work and invest, you create more demand and do not significantly add incentives to produce more goods and services. The result is: INFLATION. It is happening and getting worse.
The Supply Chain issues for many goods is a clear illustration of Bad Economics by the Liberal Democrats in the Congress and President Biden's Administration. Ships cannot unload their cargo and goods due to a worker shortage at the docks and ports. Even if that were done, there is a HUGE shortage of Truck Drivers to get those goods from the ports to the markets. THANKS, Biden. Children will not get their toys for Christmas and we cannot get cars to market. Grocery prices continue to rise. The price of gasoline increases almost daily. (Thanks for shutting down pipelines, Biden.) Price of Natural gas is up at least 100%. INFLATION.
Where are we headed? It seems to me that we are returning to the days of STAGFLATION of the Jimmy Carter Presidency. We are likely to have a stagnant, slow or no Growth Economy and Inflation together. THAT means that WE ALL get to suffer, except the REALLY RICH, most of whom give LOTS of money to help elect these PROGRESSIVE Democrats, many of whom are socialists, like Bernie Sanders and AOC and Tlaib.
#3
BIDEN has left our Southern Border wide open... Millions of people pour in...to add to the collapse...Just like the HUNS coming over the 7 hills of Rome itself.
NOT wide open, but enough to encourage many to head to the US Southern border. For example, now Haitians, who fled the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and went to Brazil and other SOUTH American countries, are now trying to get to the USA. Of the 20,000 or so at the border crossing and camp at Del Rio, Texas, about 2.000 were flown back to Haiti, some 7,000 agreed to go back to Mexico, and some 13,000 or about 65% were allowed INTO the USA to wait a Court HEARING. THAT will encourage those others NOT to try to get into the USA ILLEGALLY. Yeah, RIGHT. THANKS, Biden.
As I have said elsewhere and often, most try to enter the USA ILLEGALLY because of the terrible poverty, gangs, and violence they live with everyday. I understand that. BUT we (in the USA) give away TOO MUCH FREE STUFF already to our citizens and Democrats want to give away MORE FREE STUFF to illegal aliens and ILLEGAL immigrants.
The Goths and Vandals and other tribes looted and burned Rome and parts of the Empire. These ILLEGALS into the USA want a better life and want to work. THAT is commendable, especially since many American citizens do not want to work NOW.
HUGE Difference.CLARIFICATION: The HUNS did not invade Rome; other tribes did. The HUNS did push other tribes toward Rome, so they INDIRECTLY helped cause the Fall of Rome.
The fall of Rome is an example of the domino effect. The domino effect comes from the idea of placing dominoes on their sides, one next to another, and then intentionally knocking the first one in the line over into its neighboring domino. This creates a chain reaction and all of the dominoes fall down, one after another. For the fall of Rome, it was the Huns invading from the east that caused the domino effect, they invaded (pushed into) the Goths, who then invaded (pushed into) the Roman Empire.
The fall of the Western Roman Empire is a great lesson in cause and effect. A cause leads to an effect.
In the following examples of cause and effect, you can say the word "because" before you read the cause, and then finish the sentence with the effect. Like this: Because Roman legions evacuated Britannia in AD 406, the Anglo-Saxons moved into Britannia. You could also say the word "so" in between the cause and effect, like this: The Huns pushed other groups westward, so the Vandals invaded Spain, north Africa, and sacked Rome.
Roman legions evacuate Britannia in AD 406. (Cause)
The Anglo-Saxons move into Britannia (Effect)
The Huns push other groups westward, eventually into Roman territory. (Cause)
Aleric and the Visigoths sack Rome, AD 410 (Effect)
Vandals invade Spain, north Africa, and sack Rome in AD 455 (Effect)
https://www.penfield.edu/webpages/jgiotto/onlinetextbook.cfm?subpage=1492781